Nearly 6,000 pounds of watermelons stolen

Police in Oregon say men intended to sell the fruit for profit

Police have identified two men accused of stealing thousands of pounds of watermelons from grocery stores in Oregon.

Brad Taylor, 40, and William "Billy" Traverso, 42, were arrested using surveillance video and a description by an employee at the WinCo Foods store in Beaverton, Portland TV station KPTV reported.

The men are accused of stealing six pallets of watermelons weighing nearly 5,800 pounds in the early morning hours of June 7, Portland TV station KPTV reported.

A similar fruit heist involving 11 pallets of watermelons that same day at the WinCo store in Tigard.

A worker at the Beaverton store confronted the two men as they were loading the watermelons into a truck. The employee went inside the store to get a supervisor, but when they returned, the men -- and the watermelons -- were gone, KPTV reported.

Taylor used to deliver watermelons and investigators believe the men intended to sell the stolen fruit, according to police.

Detectives said the stolen watermelons are valued at around $7,000.

Police were able to recover five of the stolen pallets have been recovered from a storage building on a nearby farm.

WinCo workers picked them up, but the fruit will not be sold to the public, according to KPTV.

Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.